England have named their squad for the first of the three Tests against New Zealand, with seven changes to the side that went down 1-4 to Australia in the Ashes. The major dropouts for this game from the Ashes drubbing include Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, while the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood are unavailable.
England have also appointed Marcus North as their new national selector, and the squad is the first with his involvement. Crawley’s absence is a major talking point, considering he was one of the central figures in England’s Bazball approach. The right-handed opener was considered to be a top prospect against bigger teams, but his performances in the Ashes spoke otherwise.
Crawley managed to make 273 runs in 10 innings at 37.30 with just two fifties to his name. It seems that the rope has run out for him, at least for now, with England bringing in fresh faces.
Six fresh faces in squad, Robinson in after 2 years
The squad has six new or recalled players to the squad as uncapped Sonny Baker, James Rew and Emilio Gay are in line for their first Test caps. Rehan Ahmed and Ollie Robinson are back.
Rehan is in line to play for the first Test at home after winning his six red-ball caps in Pakistan and India. He took the second spinner’s role along with Shoaib Bashir as Will Jacks stayed out.
Meanwhile, Robinson is back in the squad for the first time after more than two years. Robinson had recently revealed that head coach Brendon McCullum had messaged him stating that his recall is on the table. He has found new motivation after being named the Sussex captain and scalped six wickets in his side’s win over Leicestershire.
Robinson is a key pacer for England alongside Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, while England captain Ben Stokes also offers a strong seam option. Stokes recently returned to red-ball action for Durham after his face injury.
Rob Key sees England’s squad with proven qualityThe
England men’s director reflected on the squad selection. “We selected a squad that we believe has a really exciting blend of proven international quality, strong county form and players with huge potential to develop at Test level,” Key said.
“Emilio, James and Sonny have all earned their opportunities through consistent performances and have impressed us not only with their talent, but with the way they’ve gone about their cricket in high-pressure situations.
“It’s also great to welcome back players like Rehan, Matt and Ollie, who all bring different qualities and experience to the group. Competition for places remains incredibly strong, and that’s exactly where we want to be as a Test team. Jofra Archer is unavailable for the first Test. He continues to play in the IPL, and it is about building him up for red-ball cricket after a long six months on the road.”
England Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue.
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